10 Things You Can Do to Dress Up a Grocery Store Cake
Updated: Jul. 25, 2022
Store-bought cakes might be a quick and easy dessert, but they don't have to be boring!
There’s no need to spend $50+ or order weeks in advance to get a cake that looks extra-special, says Vanessa Beaty, a blogger at DIY & Crafts. Start with a plain ol’ cake from the supermarket bakery (or even from Costco) and it won’t take long to create a completely unique dessert that’s sure to impress your guests.
Here’s what to do…
Add Fresh Fruit
It’s so easy and will instantly dress up any cake. You don’t even need that much fruit or that much time. Just choose any brightly-colored fruit…and away you go! (That said, we do happen to think this Berry Nectarine Salad would look berry good on top of any chocolate store-bought cake.)
Grab the Gummy Bears
You can cover the whole cake with Haribo Gold Bears as one Instagram baker did. But we think it would look just as adora-bear if you were to use the bears more sporadically, as gummy accents.
Go Wild with Candy
Surround your cake with Kit-Kat bars, and even you won’t recognize your store-bought cake. You can cover the base with cake pops (minus the sticks), or surround yours with anything you’d like. Like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups…. Yum!
Pop in Some Lollipops
Blogger Melanie Blodget came up with an amazing idea for decorating any plain frosted cake: simply poke multi-colored Dum Dum Pops around the perimeter for literal “pops” of color.
Go Crazy With Caramel Corn
This one’s fairly simple. Pick up caramel sauce and caramel corn—and you’re in business! (No guests will be able to resist eating handfuls of popcorn off the top of the cake, though.)
Cover the Cake in Ganache
Cover your cake in ganache, a smooth, easily pourable mixture of melted chocolate and heavy cream. You can pour it over a cake and have the whole thing beautifully coated in moments.
Don’t Forget the Doughnuts
Make any chocolate cake even more chocolate-y by topping it with chocolate glazed doughnuts. The rainbow sprinkles are a nice touch, too. Find all the best doughnut shops across the USA right here.
Use Your Favorite Cookies
You know those super-soft frosted cookies you can find in the supermarket (conveniently close to the store-bought cake you’re about to decorate)? Just pop ’em atop your cake, and customize away!
Sprinkle the Joy
How to make a plain ol’ grocery store cake look instantly joyful? Just take a handful of rainbow sprinkles and press them gently into the sides of a frosted cake.
For the sprinkle-obsessed, you’ll need to check out our most fun rainbow sprinkle recipes.
Sweeten the Deal with Fondant
It might look like master-level cake decorating, but you’ve got this. You can order edible fondant from Etsy, which comes in easy-to-stick shapes (like these colorful stars) or in ready-made cake toppers (like this outer spaced-themed cake topper). People will think you’re a pro!
